Detoxing for first time

[tyguy7268]

I have been on Norco 10/325 for about 3 years now, my dosage ranging from 4 to 8 per day and I drink alcohol everyday. At least a 6 pack a night or a bottle of wine. I want to quit, and I had planned on tapering off starting this week, but all of a sudden my Dr moved and I can't get another refill. I went from 8 on Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday, and now its been 24 hours since my last dose. I am having really bad hot and cold flashes, diarrhea, and I can't sit still, or stop sneezing. I have Xanax for my anxiety and have been taking .5mg here and there today to help with the anxiety I'm feeling. Since cold turkey wasn't the plan, I have no idea what to expect. Please let me know if there are any tips I can follow to help ease what I am about to go through. I have 2 pills left and I don't want to take them unless I just can't handle it, but planned on breaking them in half and only taking them if I have to so I can function at work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jifmoc]

Yes, she means meetings or counseling. I can tell you are panicking. Okay, listen, you are 72 hours w/o opiates, that is fantastic. But, you are already worried about the fact that you want some desperately. Of course, you want them desperately, your brain and body are in agony and you are so used to the pills "fixing" everything. Now your brain and body are screaming "WTF???!!!" You have been using a quick fix for every. single. uncomfortable. feelings. That's why we use them. You drink nightly on top of that so you completely forgot how to cope.  You have to have patience. Patience. You can't expect to feel normal in 3 days after abusing meds and drink for however long, right?  You can give in to your cravings, feel better for 2 hours, then what? You have to start all over. Trust me, I wish this was easier. We all do. None of us wanted this or intended to get hooked on this sh!t. But whatever is "missing" or "effed up" about our brain chemistry makes us not deal well w/ life as it is so we used our band aids. Until they dont work anymore. It always, always ends up coming right back to where you are now. It took me 3 or 4 times trying to quit before I figured that out. That's my experience and others from everything I've read and heard.

[tyguy7268]

I'm assuming by aftercare you mean meetings and counseling?

[IBKleen]

Aftercare, aftercare, aftercare. I can't say it enough. Just because you put the drugs down does mean you are cured or you are not an addict. You will be an addict for the rest of your life. You can either be an addict using or you can be an addict in recovery. Our problem is not the drugs..our problem is ourselves. We don't know how to do things without some sort of stimulation..whatever it may be. This didn't sneak up on us. We have bee this way all our lives.

You need to first of all delete all those phone numbers to eliminate the temptation. Next you need to learn new behaviors, life skills and relapse prevention skills. You need to learn what triggers your using so you can deal with it when it comes up.

For me I did one on one counseling and I became a member of NA. Both of those helped me to live my life drug free.

Whatever you choose is fine but just remember that you can't do this alone. it won't work. So if you think you can do it you are in big trouble. Your best thinking got you here. It's time for you to get humble.

[tyguy7268]

Believe it or not, other than some stomach cramps and some back pain that I was able to tolerate with a bath and some OTC meds like advil, I feel better than expected and I'm almost 72 hours sober.

How do you deal with the mental cravings? I know all I need to do is walk out my front door, look in a random drawer, go through my car, make a quick text and i'll have one. I can't get it out of my mind, and even by keeping busy with movies, blogging, talking on the phone, swimming, walking, its all I can think about. Does this ever go away? What happens if I cave in? Does that mean I start all over? This is the first time i've ever detoxed, and for the first 2 years I followed my scrip of 2 to 3 5/500 per day without EVER abusing them. Then the last 6 months I just went out of control and started getting more than my dr was giving me. I just don't feel strong enough at all.

[lulu747]

This is rebound pain from the pain receptors in your body screaming out for drugs.  Long term opiate use creates MORE pain.  It takes a month or more for you to level out and properly evaluate you pain.  When i was detoxing I felt EVERY injury I'd ever had.  I have Rheumatoid arthritis and my joints hurt something fierce.  Don't give in.  Use Ibuprophen and tylenol and heat to deal with the pain.  You don't want to go backwards.
I promise this is a totally normal part of detox and you just have to keep moving through it.
I had been told my all my doctors that I would need pain meds to function for the rest of my life.  I decided this was not an option for me and after about a month clean I was in 90% less pain than I was on opiates.  I went back to exercising for the first time in 6 years.  After a year clean I was in the best shape of my life and even went back to dancing which I hadn't been able to do since I was 21 and broke my tailbone in three places (I used to be a professional dancer)
So I hope this gives you some hope and inspiration to keep moving forward.
Opiates are NOT good options for long term chronic pain.  Never.

You are almost over the hump.  Hang on tight.
Lu

[Jinx_777]

assess not access